World Cup Protesters Create 'Hidden' Rainbow Flag In Support Of LGBTQ Rights

The demonstration is aimed at supporting the queer community “in a way that no one would ever suspect.”

A group of global activists has devised a colorful, yet stealthy, way to support LGBTQ rights during the 2018 World Cup in Russia.

Six members of the Spanish advocacy group, FELGTB (which loosely translates to the National Federation of Lesbians, Gays, Transgender People and Bisexuals) worked together to create the Hidden Flag protest in Moscow.

Each activist wore a colorful soccer jersey from a different country, representing Spain, the Netherlands, Brazil, Mexico, Argentina and Colombia.

When members of the group stand side by side, they resemble the rainbow flag, which has come to represent the LGBTQ community worldwide. The activists ― who have been identified as Marta Márquez, Eric Houter, Eloi Pierozan Junior, Guillermo León, Vanesa Paola Ferrario, and Mateo Fernández Gómez ― have had their photo snapped at iconic sites around Moscow, and even posed next to a police officer. (View a Spanish language video of the Hidden Flag protest above.)

In Russia it’s illegal to display the LGBT pride flag. So during the #WorldCup these 6 football fans have formed a hidden rainbow flag with their soccer jerseys, to protest Russia’s discriminatory laws in plain sight. #HiddenFlag ✊🏳️‍🌈 pic.twitter.com/I6uvYztGlR

The protest is particularly noteworthy given Russia’s “gay propaganda” laws. That controversial legislation, enacted in 2013, made it illegal to distribute material that would “promote” homosexuality to minors and has been used to stop LGBTQ Pride parades and detain local activists.

Hence, the Hidden Flag participants said their demonstration would “take the rainbow flag to the streets of Russia ... in a way that no one would ever suspect,” according to USA Today.

“When Gilbert Baker designed the rainbow flag in 1978, he did so to create a symbol and an icon for the LGBT community,” the group wrote. “Unfortunately, 40 years later, there are still countries in which homosexuality is persecuted, sometimes even by jail sentences, and in which the rainbow flag is forbidden. Russia is one of these countries.”

“In the plain light of day, in front of the Russian authorities, Russian society and the whole world, we wave the flag with pride,” it added.